This past weekend, the St. Thomas University Computer Science Club participated in the NASA Space Apps Challenge, a 48-hour computer programming hack-a-thon.
The STU Team, made up of Computer Science, Applied Math, and Engineering 2+2 students, developed “Terminus,” a mobile app that allows users to book interplanetary travel to far reaches of the galaxy.
“The 2019 NASA Space Apps Challenge was the highlight of the year. Actually working through 48 hours, just you, the team, and the ideas flowing throughout the room made it a spectacular experience,” said Louis Alvarez, the Computer Science Club President.
With the app, users can learn about exciting new destinations, like a lava, a gas, and a frozen planet; great for extreme sports enthusiasts. The app was designed to inspire interests in these far off planets and prepare users for when we can actually reach these distant, exotic locations. The STU team was lead by Louis Alvarez, Jared Sullin, and Kelly Rivera, president, vice-president, and treasurer of the Computer Science Club.
Now in its 8th year, Space Apps is an international hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage with NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space.
Space Apps 2019 included over 29,000 participants at more than 230 events in 80 countries. To view the application developed by STU students, click here: https://2019.spaceappschallenge.org/challenges/stars/trans-neptunian-spaceway/teams/stu-computer-science-club/project
